After 8 unbeaten matches on a row, Liverpool were
finally defeated by lowly West Ham yesterday night.
By the look of the team performance, we deserved
a draw or even better if not for the poor goalkeeping
by Reina and the heroic saves made by Green at the
other end.
If I have to point finger of the culprit to the match loss,
it must be the manager himself, King Kenny. I thought
he played a wrong strategy in using Kuyt as the main
striker and Suarez in a supporting role. It should be
entirely opposite switch of role between the 2 players.
Suarez is a fox in the box and we can see that in the
2nd half when he was creating panic and chaos in
the Hammers' box with his swift and pacy twists and
turns. Nevertheless, he created the goal for Johnson to
tap in with all his might and agility. If only he was made
to do the same in the 1st half.
Kuyt if he is playing in the supporting striker can help to
fill up the midfield gap with his tireless workhorse attitude.
Gerrard, Lucas and Meireles just can't dominate the critcal
midfield area and even when Cole was substituted in to replace
the injured Kelly, there is still lots of space for the West Ham's
midfielder to run into. I am convinced that Cole will be the
next "Roy Hodgson" who just about everyone and anyone were
singing praises on the player but he simply cannot perform up
to the standard and quality required. It will be better for Cole to
just ship him out of the club and to another mid-table club where
he may then shine in the team. Look like he got no future in the
club and in my view, even Aquilani is a better player than Cole.
Reina wasn't at his best yesterday and I think he will admit to that
statement himself. He should be able to save the 1st goal by Parker
as he was so close to the ball with his dive. The 2nd goal by Ba was
a diving header and I agree that it is a defensive lapse and it was
amazing how he got so much space to perform such an act.
The third goal by Carlton Cole was simply a speculative shot and
Reina was surprisingly being caught out at his near post which was
a very bad mistake made by the world-class keeper. He need to be
at his very best in the next match against Arch-Rival Man United.
Gerrard had a forgettable afternoon with a below-par performance
and that can be due to his first return match from injury. He need
to lead by example and buck up soon and lead the team to victories
again and again. Meireles had a knock at the knee and was substituted
in the 2nd half. He should be fit again this weekend according to the
post-match interview with Kenny. Lucas was really a by-stander
in the match yesterday and with such inconsistent performance by
the Brazilian, I wonder whether he will still be with us in the next season.
To be frank, I was really hoping that Kenny will bring Carroll to
West Ham and feature him for about 20 minutes of the game, but
I think he intend to unleash him in the Big match this week.
Suarez played reasonably well yesterday and was unlucky not to
have score 1 or maybe even 2 goal if he is fortunate enough, but he
still managed to create the assist with a simple tap-in by Johnson.
Kuyt and Ngog are not really the "right" striker for Liverpool and
with Carroll back in action this week, they are bound to fall in the
pecking order. I look forward to the days that Carroll and Suarez
can work together as a lethal and fearsome strike-force and
score plentiful of goals between the 2, starting from this week
BIG match against Man United.
You Will Never Walk Alone!
Liverpool VS Sparta Prague : Match Review for the 2 legs
A boring draw and a narrow win in Anfield ensured
Liverpool a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Kuyt grabbed the winner on the 83th minute but ideally
the match should already be wrapped up by half-time.
Ngog missed a sitter and if Cole has more courage or
taller by 5-10cm, he will score the follow-up.
Nevertheless, this is a fantastic victory for King Kenny
who pick up his first victory in European match as
Liverpool manager.
There were a number of injuries from this match with
the likes of Martin Kelly, Kyrgiakos and Agger. Although
we still have enough defenders as the back-up, it is
essential that the injury list is keep to a minimum as we
strive for a Champions League position and getting the
first silverware as the Europa League remains as the only
realistic opportunity to be won.
Ngog was wasteful in his finishing and with a bit of help
from Lady Luck, he should have scored 2-3 goals this
morning. Joe Cole played the full 90 minutes and he
delivered a reasonable performance which will be
wonderful if he scored the nearly 1-to-1 opportunity
near the end of the match. I do think he is better than
Maxi sometimes but he need to be consistent and
perform at his best when he is given a chance to shine.
Meireles was quite quiet in this match and he should have
scored the open volley when he had the clear scoring chance.
But it is Ok if he continues to score in the Premier League
as we need all the 3 points we can get and leave the
scoring in the Europa League to the rest of his team-mate.
Kuyt was as usual very hardworking throughout the match
and his effort was paid off with a header goal. He remains
as the Kop favourite and look to be written into the history
book if he ends his career at Liverpool.
The next match will be away to West Ham and it will
be exciting if Kenny choose to start Carroll with Suarez
or use him as a substitute during the match. With a commanding
towering figure, Carroll will cause chaos to the fragile
West Ham defence and create chances for Suarez and
himself to score. Gerrard maybe back from injury and
ready for this match as well but Kenny will make the
final decision whether to risk Carroll and Gerrard in this match.
I don't think West Ham can deal with Saurez's skill and
agility and Carroll's strength and power, this match will
likely ended in a clear 2 goal victory for the Reds.
Liverpool a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Kuyt grabbed the winner on the 83th minute but ideally
the match should already be wrapped up by half-time.
Ngog missed a sitter and if Cole has more courage or
taller by 5-10cm, he will score the follow-up.
Nevertheless, this is a fantastic victory for King Kenny
who pick up his first victory in European match as
Liverpool manager.
There were a number of injuries from this match with
the likes of Martin Kelly, Kyrgiakos and Agger. Although
we still have enough defenders as the back-up, it is
essential that the injury list is keep to a minimum as we
strive for a Champions League position and getting the
first silverware as the Europa League remains as the only
realistic opportunity to be won.
Ngog was wasteful in his finishing and with a bit of help
from Lady Luck, he should have scored 2-3 goals this
morning. Joe Cole played the full 90 minutes and he
delivered a reasonable performance which will be
wonderful if he scored the nearly 1-to-1 opportunity
near the end of the match. I do think he is better than
Maxi sometimes but he need to be consistent and
perform at his best when he is given a chance to shine.
Meireles was quite quiet in this match and he should have
scored the open volley when he had the clear scoring chance.
But it is Ok if he continues to score in the Premier League
as we need all the 3 points we can get and leave the
scoring in the Europa League to the rest of his team-mate.
Kuyt was as usual very hardworking throughout the match
and his effort was paid off with a header goal. He remains
as the Kop favourite and look to be written into the history
book if he ends his career at Liverpool.
The next match will be away to West Ham and it will
be exciting if Kenny choose to start Carroll with Suarez
or use him as a substitute during the match. With a commanding
towering figure, Carroll will cause chaos to the fragile
West Ham defence and create chances for Suarez and
himself to score. Gerrard maybe back from injury and
ready for this match as well but Kenny will make the
final decision whether to risk Carroll and Gerrard in this match.
I don't think West Ham can deal with Saurez's skill and
agility and Carroll's strength and power, this match will
likely ended in a clear 2 goal victory for the Reds.
Chelsea VS Match Review
To pursuit a higher peak of his career, Fernando Torres
supposedly left the Anfield faithfuls to move to a "Big"
club, Chelsea, and I wonder what will be his feeling
and reaction after his lousy performance and Chelsea's
7th defeat in the league and a double-win by Liverpool
yesterday night.
The fact that Liverpool won the match without any of
the recently recruited Suarez and Carroll made the victory
even more sweeter and succulent. With a renewed confidence,
and with vice-captain Carragher back from injury, the
Reds fought for every ball and defended well and strongly
against any onslaught and aerial assaults from the Blues.
Torres, Drogba and Anelka were shut off almost completely
throughout the whole match and their rare shots were
either saved by an alert Reina or cleared off and blocked
by the defenders or just flew wide and far from any danger.
Kenny had done superbly well in his recent team selection
and it is clear to see to see he is playing the team to counteract
the opponent's strength and then using our own strengths to
clear down the opponent's defence. The fact that Kenny employed
6 defenders against Stoke and 5 defenders against Chelsea shows
the intelligence and experience that Kenny has in dealing with
every difficult opponent. There may be some critics that the
tactic is conservative and old-time but as long as it works and
delivers the 3 points, it is a good tactic. And Liverpool had 13 points
out of the possible 15 points in the last 5 matches and 4 clean sheet
victory in a row signify that the team can really strive for the
Champion's League position as we are now at 6th and 6 points
from the leading pack.
Meireles once again provided the winning goal and it is his
fourth goal in the last 5 matches and he is playing as a very
confident player that just can't stop scoring. His goal in the
69th, 3 minutes after Torres was substituted was a timely strike
that the Reds are the Big club and the Blues are just the
pretender.
In the dying minutes of the match, I was expecting Kenny to
bring in Suarez in place of Kuyt who had work tirelessly throughout
the match, and use out some precious time leading to the final
whistle, but Kenny never did so. Maybe he wanted the players
and formation to stay intact for the last few minutes and allow
the players to walk off the field with their head held up high.
The next match will be this Saturday against Wigan at Anfield
and followed by Europa League match against Sparta Prague
across 2 weeks. The away match against West Ham will be
the last match in Februray and in March, we have the Biggest
match against Man United on 6 March.
supposedly left the Anfield faithfuls to move to a "Big"
club, Chelsea, and I wonder what will be his feeling
and reaction after his lousy performance and Chelsea's
7th defeat in the league and a double-win by Liverpool
yesterday night.
The fact that Liverpool won the match without any of
the recently recruited Suarez and Carroll made the victory
even more sweeter and succulent. With a renewed confidence,
and with vice-captain Carragher back from injury, the
Reds fought for every ball and defended well and strongly
against any onslaught and aerial assaults from the Blues.
Torres, Drogba and Anelka were shut off almost completely
throughout the whole match and their rare shots were
either saved by an alert Reina or cleared off and blocked
by the defenders or just flew wide and far from any danger.
Kenny had done superbly well in his recent team selection
and it is clear to see to see he is playing the team to counteract
the opponent's strength and then using our own strengths to
clear down the opponent's defence. The fact that Kenny employed
6 defenders against Stoke and 5 defenders against Chelsea shows
the intelligence and experience that Kenny has in dealing with
every difficult opponent. There may be some critics that the
tactic is conservative and old-time but as long as it works and
delivers the 3 points, it is a good tactic. And Liverpool had 13 points
out of the possible 15 points in the last 5 matches and 4 clean sheet
victory in a row signify that the team can really strive for the
Champion's League position as we are now at 6th and 6 points
from the leading pack.
Meireles once again provided the winning goal and it is his
fourth goal in the last 5 matches and he is playing as a very
confident player that just can't stop scoring. His goal in the
69th, 3 minutes after Torres was substituted was a timely strike
that the Reds are the Big club and the Blues are just the
pretender.
In the dying minutes of the match, I was expecting Kenny to
bring in Suarez in place of Kuyt who had work tirelessly throughout
the match, and use out some precious time leading to the final
whistle, but Kenny never did so. Maybe he wanted the players
and formation to stay intact for the last few minutes and allow
the players to walk off the field with their head held up high.
The next match will be this Saturday against Wigan at Anfield
and followed by Europa League match against Sparta Prague
across 2 weeks. The away match against West Ham will be
the last match in Februray and in March, we have the Biggest
match against Man United on 6 March.
Liverpool VS Stoke: Match Review
A well-taken goal by new-signing Luis Suarez after
being on the field for only 16 minutes enable the Reds to
win with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Anfield. Suarez don't
look sharp, in fact, he looked rusty in his current form after
not playing for months in Holland but he is definitely hardworking
and helped in the defence which is well-received by the fans
and I really like such a fighter spirit on display. One can only
hope that he will regain his full-fitness and sharpness soon
and together with the imminent return from injury by record-signing
Carroll, they can only be a deadly and lethal strike force which
will struck fear into any team's defenders.
Liverpool started with this match with 6 defenders, although Johnson
and Aurelio were listed as wingers but they were not running much
during the first half, maybe due to the anticipated direct play by
Stoke. The Reds was rather conservative in the first-half and it
was only after Suarez was up and running doing the warm-up and
maybe Kenny shouted some instructions to Johnson that he started
to run up and wide and nearly contributed a goal with a good header .
Kuyt was assigned as a lone striker and he performed well
in his role and should have scored at least a goal with the chances
he had but he made up for his misses with a well-timed and
precise cutting pass which Suarez finished with his first goal
for the club. Meireles scored what was his third goal in four
matches and it looked like Hodgson's only contribution to the
clubn in his short stint as manager was to sign the midfield gem
from Porto. Gerrard was as usual running into spaces and
delivered great crosses and his link-up with Meireles and Kuyt
was good and it seems like playing him at the central role maybe
afterall a good move by the King. Lucas is a shadow-hero in recent
matches as he is the one doing the dirty job in breaking up the
attacks from the opponents and was always available to receive
and pass up any balls from the full-back.
This is the third consecutive victory for Kenny and three clean
sheet in a row as well. The Kenny effect is starting to take shape
in the team with the confidence level running high and wild
and the fan is equally fanatically behind the team and club.
The next match will be this Sunday against Chelsea in which Torres
will make his debut after switching club. I see Kenny putting
Carragher into the team and he will be tasked with the role
of watching closely the former-red. Suarez's speed and skill
will prove menace to Terry and gang and I just like to see him
celebrating after scoring a goal or goals against Chelsea.
being on the field for only 16 minutes enable the Reds to
win with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Anfield. Suarez don't
look sharp, in fact, he looked rusty in his current form after
not playing for months in Holland but he is definitely hardworking
and helped in the defence which is well-received by the fans
and I really like such a fighter spirit on display. One can only
hope that he will regain his full-fitness and sharpness soon
and together with the imminent return from injury by record-signing
Carroll, they can only be a deadly and lethal strike force which
will struck fear into any team's defenders.
Liverpool started with this match with 6 defenders, although Johnson
and Aurelio were listed as wingers but they were not running much
during the first half, maybe due to the anticipated direct play by
Stoke. The Reds was rather conservative in the first-half and it
was only after Suarez was up and running doing the warm-up and
maybe Kenny shouted some instructions to Johnson that he started
to run up and wide and nearly contributed a goal with a good header .
Kuyt was assigned as a lone striker and he performed well
in his role and should have scored at least a goal with the chances
he had but he made up for his misses with a well-timed and
precise cutting pass which Suarez finished with his first goal
for the club. Meireles scored what was his third goal in four
matches and it looked like Hodgson's only contribution to the
clubn in his short stint as manager was to sign the midfield gem
from Porto. Gerrard was as usual running into spaces and
delivered great crosses and his link-up with Meireles and Kuyt
was good and it seems like playing him at the central role maybe
afterall a good move by the King. Lucas is a shadow-hero in recent
matches as he is the one doing the dirty job in breaking up the
attacks from the opponents and was always available to receive
and pass up any balls from the full-back.
This is the third consecutive victory for Kenny and three clean
sheet in a row as well. The Kenny effect is starting to take shape
in the team with the confidence level running high and wild
and the fan is equally fanatically behind the team and club.
The next match will be this Sunday against Chelsea in which Torres
will make his debut after switching club. I see Kenny putting
Carragher into the team and he will be tasked with the role
of watching closely the former-red. Suarez's speed and skill
will prove menace to Terry and gang and I just like to see him
celebrating after scoring a goal or goals against Chelsea.
